Combined foldable toothbrush and powdered dentifrice dispenser



priH 25, 1950 2,505,547

F. E, HOWARD COMBINED F'OLDABLE TOOTHBRUSH AND POWDERED DENTIFRICEDISPENSER Filed Feb. 26, 1945 lll'rlr'","la11111111111111111111111111111111/1111(:j

Patented Apr. 25, 1950 UNITED STATS imia'iiiNT OFFECE CMBINED FLDABLETOTEBRUSH AND PWDERED DENTIFRCE DISPENSER Frances B. Howard, Columbus,Miss.

Application February 26, 1945, Serial No. 579,774

5 Claims. (Cl. 15-13S) My invention relates broadly to tooth brushes andmore particularly to a combined foldable tooth brush and powdereddentifrice dispenser.-

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an improvedconstruction of foldable tooth brush having means for controlling thedispensing of powdered dentifrice to the tooth brush.

Another object of my invention is to provide a construction of foldabletooth brush and dentifrice controlling valve device for distributing therequired quantity of dentifrice to the brush and protecting the brushwhen the tooth brush is not in use.

Another object of my invention is to provide a construction of foldabletooth brush wherein a protective hood for the brush when unfolded incoaction with the foldable handle of the tooth brush forms asubstantially continuous support for the brush which may be readilyoperated by holding the extended portion of the handle and hood in aposition in which the fingers may readily control the supply ofdentifrice to the brush without the necessity of removal of any parts.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel and improvedconstruction of closure for v the powder reservoir of the foldable toothbrush permitting ready access to the reservoir for the addition ofrenewed powdered dentifrice with means for controlling the delivery ofpowdered dentifrice to the brush.

Other and further objects of my invention reside in an improvedconstruction of foldable tooth. brush and dentifrice supply meanstherefor as set forth. more fully in the specification hereinafterfollowing by reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure l is a side elevational view of the improved foldable tooth brushin folded position with a portion of the protective hood broken away andshowing the bristles of the tooth brush in elevation therein; Fig. 2 isa transverse sectional view taken substantiallyon line 2-2 of Fig. l;Fig. 3 is a side elevational view showing the foldable tooth brush of myinvention in unfolded position ready for use; Fig. 4 is an enlarged planview of the tooth brush in unfolded position on a somewhat larger scaleand showing particularly the container for powdered dentifrice and theapertures which extend through the tooth brush handle; Fig. 5 is afragmentary longitudinal sectional view taken through the section of thetooth brush which includes the container for powdered dentifrice, theslide valve, the closure cap for the container and the pivotedprotective hood connected to the slide valve, the slide valve beingshown in the position in which the tooth brush is used for brushing theteeth, that is, with the slide valve moved to a position closing theperforations and preventing the sifting of powdered dentifrice from thecontainer; Fig. 6 is a view similar to the View illustrated in Fig. 5but illustrating the slide valve moved to an opposite limiting positionto that illustrated in Fig. 5 for rendering the periorations effectivefor discharging powdered dentifrice to the tooth brush when the toothbrush sections are folded with respect to each other as illustrated inFig. 7; Fig. 7 shows the sections of the tooth brush in folded relationfor sifting the powdered dentifrice from the container to the toothbrush; Fig. 8 illustrates a fragmentary portion of the container readyto receive the closure cap on the end thereof; Fig. 9 is a perspectiveView of the slide valve and hood hingedly connected thereto; Fig. l0 isa transverse sectional view taken on line lll-l0 of Fig. 5; and Fig. l1is a horizontal sectional view taken on line ll-ll of Fig. 10.

My invention is directed to an improved construction of foldable toothbrush with powder dispenser which may be inexpensively manufactured cn amass production scale. The foldable tooth brush of my invention isparticularly useful to traveling people, business people, and those inthe military services, as the tooth brush oomplete with a, dentifricesupply occupies a veriT small overall space and can be convenientlycarried in a purse or pocket. The tooth brush of my invention is capableof being molded from plastic material in a very small number of parts,one of which forms a support for the bristles of the tooth brush,another of which serves as a reservoir for powdered dentifrice, anotherof which consists of a protective hood for normally enclosing thebristles of the brush. another of which consists of a slide valveconnected with the protective hood and serving in either of two limitingpositions thereof to permit the delivery of powdered dentifrice to thebrush or to maintain the powder reservoir closed, and the other ofwhiclrcomprises a closure cap for the powdered dentifrice container. Iprovide means for limiting the' outward movement of the slide valve sothat when the parts have been assembled the protective hood may be usedas a handle device to control the position of the valve to therebypermit the delivery or prevent the delivery of powdered dentifrice. Iprovide a closure cap of special construction which forms atight-fitting connection with the reservoir to permit the addition oftooth powder to the reservoir from time to time for re-lling. Theprotective hood used in association with the tooth brush structureserves three functions; that is, as a means for facilitating themovements of the slide valve for moving the valve to either of twolimiting positions; protection of the bristles of the tooth brush whileat the same time preventing dampness from the bristles of the brush frominjuring any articles which may be adjacent the folded tooth brush; .andas a securing .means for fastening the Y parts of the foldable toothbrush together while the brush is not in use.

Referring to the drawings .in moredetailfreference character idesignates one section'of the foldable tooth brush of my inventionconsisting of a short handle portion 2 and faitooth :brush supportingportion 3, which carries the tooth brush bristles represented atprojecting substantially normally to the plane of the tooth brushsupporting portion 3. The tooth brush supporting portion 3 is locatedadjacent'one end .of the .handle portion 2 and a hinged connection .-3is located adjacent the opposite end of the .handle portion 2 .forproviding .et-.hinged connectio-n with the "aligned longitudinally.extending .section y'l of the tooth brush. The longitudinally extendingsection 'l is'enlarged in transverse `section with respect to theihandleportion i2 of sec Vtion i -bymeans of an outwardly tapered portionindicated at 8 which forms a housing for a longitudinally extendinginterior container 9 vfor powdered dentifrice. rlh'e container i9extends :substantially the full length of the section 'l of the toothbrush rand serves 'to receive sufficient powdered dentifrice for'useover a period of a Yshown at H is provided Vforestablishing-.snap-on and snap-off connection with the open end-of thecontainer S of therhandle portion 'i for maintaining the .container :9closed. The closure cap li is provided with a .yieldable vskirt portionl2 Y:extending peripherally around the external porn tion of the'end Il)of the container ,e and fric tionally engaging 'theexternal walls of theconn tainer d supplemented by the added snap-on and snap-o advantagesobtained by the instruck projections it and i5 in the yieldable ysidesl2 of the closure cap attached to engage aligned l-recesses i6 vand vilin the interior side walls of the container e of fsection l of the toothbrush.

Section 'i vof the .tooth brush 'isprovided adi jacent the end lilthereof in the flat vportion of the surface of the 4containerrepresented 'at i3 with a multiplicity of perforations which.A -I havejndieatedat .is extending vthrough the-:nat suri ace .it`andiconnectinjgto thezinterior or the `con'- ftainer e. perforations.Llf'serve asia means for allowing the sprinkling .or 'discharging ofpowderedldentice whiohlhave desmnated: generally at .2t within:container .3. .on .to 'the bristle-'s f5 of the toothbrush when Vthe.sections i A'and l are folded one `upon `the other and heid fin theposition illustratedinlig. 7 and thes'lide valve .2J moved to theposition `shown in iig. 'il to .allow Vs'l'ialzing of the folded toothbrushafor .distributing .the powdered dentifrice from the container wonto the bristies offthe toothbrush at E.

The slide valve 2| is constituted by a longitudinally extending stripsomewhat shorter than the length of the section 'I of the tooth brushand engageable in oppositely aligned guide grooves 22 and 23 in theinterior walls of the container S. The grooves 22 and 23 serve ascontinuous guides for the longitudinally extending slide valve 2l whichis free to be shifted to either of two limit ing positions by graspingthe protective hood 'it in the ngers and manually sliding slide valve 2llongitudinally of the section of the tooth brush. The slide valve 2lincludes a slotted portion 25 and anapertured portion 26. When theprotec- Vtive hood 2e which is hingedly connected with the end of theslide valve 2i hy means of the hinged device indicated at 2t is moved tothe `position illustrated in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, the slotted portion 25 ofthe slide valve 2i is aligned with theperforated portion I9 of thecontainer 9 and obstructs or prevents the discharge of any Vpowdereddentifrice .fromcontainer t through the perforaticns When, however, theprotective hood :2A is grasped 4and .the slide valve pulled outwardly,the apertured portion 2t `.thereof becomes'alignedwith perforations i9thus-uncovering the perforations l' and allowing the powdered dentifriceto be sprinkled or discharged upon the bristles of the tooth brush. norder to preclude or .restrict the slide valve 2i from becomingseparated from the ytooth brush in .normaloonditions of .operationIprovide a limiting stop El on the slide valve `2l in a -positionadjacent the end of the apertured portion 25. Limiting stop ..21 is anoutstrucl; portion of thefstrip consisting of rthe slide valve andextends Asubstantially Anormal to the .plane-of .the slide valve V2lintermediate the slotted portion 25 andthe apertured ,portion '2t-ontheslide valve 2l yforming a positive .abe-tment with the inside surfaceof .the closure cap l! when the "slide valve is pulled outwardly Ybygrasping and .pulling Hupon the protective `hood 2li. Theyieldable'engagementofclosure cap -lf'i with vthe end AI0 of the'container 9 .of section l of the toothbrush is sunciently resistivetornerf vmally prevent the :slide valve 2| from `hei-ng drawn outwardlyrbeyond 4the limit :intended for registering aperture 26 withperforations le.

However., the assernbly of the slide valve 2i :with respect to container9 is such that by `removing the closure cap H from the end it :ofcontainer 9, the slide valve 2| may lbe wholly removed from thecontainer for the purpose of washing and cleaning the parts. Re-assemblyis extremely simple 4as it fis only necessary to move slide valve 2linto the guide grooves `22 and 23 to the point where abutment 21 is wellwithin the open end'of container-9 whereupon the yieldable closure capil is finserted over the end it of the container 9 for .maintaining thevalve 2l against normal removal during the intended 'operationillustrated in Figs. 6 and In the positionillustrated in Eigf 'theclosure cap U has been wholly .removed Vandcontainer i9 4ris .ready for:filling with lpowdered dentifrice Yin 2a quantity vsuiicient 'to last-a Vweet: `or several powdered dentifrice.

The protective hood- 24 is .shaped iin a very special `manner with`skirted walls Von 'opposite sides of the hood 24 as Yrepresented at `28and 29 vwhich are of vsufficient flengthto frictionally enfgageoppositefsides of the Asection 'I lof the Vtooth `brush for efectingthelbix-idin'g relation between aises-for? the sections i and 1 ofte-toothtrush when the tooth brush is folded to the position illustratedin Figs. 1 and 2. Inadditionto this frictional bond I also provide a`longitudinally extending slot 30 inthe end wall of the protective hoodwhich is sufficiently wide to ena-ble the hood 2dr when in foldedposition` to be moved` fully over the handle section portion 2A of thetooth brush. In this position thev inwardly skirted edges of the slottedportion 3D represented at. 30a and 353D establish frictional bindingrelationwith opposite sides of the handle `portion 2 of section I forthereby` increasing the binding relation to secure the folded sections Iand I together permitting the tooth brush to be carried in foldedposition in a purse or pocket without danger of the parts separating. Toenable the .protective hood 24 to be closed to the maximum extent overthe bristles 5 of the tooth brush and to allow the yieldable side walls28 and 29 to establish frictional wiping engagement with the externalside walls of the container S I out away each of. the corner portions ofthe slot 39 as I have indicated generally at 39e.

When the tooth brush is in use with the parts' illustratedin Fig. 3,sections I and 'i are held in substantial alignment inthe hand andprotective hood 2d extends-in a longitudinal direction substantiallyaligned with section 'i of the tooth brush in the arrangementillustrated in Fig. 3. By quickly drawing the protective hood 24outwardly, slide valve ZI is shifted to a position where aperturedportion 26 uncovers perforations I5 as illustrated in Fig. 6. Then thesection I of the tooth brush is folded against the section I and theassembly reversed and slightly tapped or shaken to allow the powdereddentifrice to be shaken from the container 9 on the bristles 5 of thetooth brush. When the bristles 5 of the tooth brush are thus chargedwith the powdered dentifrice the protective hood is pushed inwardlytoward the section 'I of the tooth brush moving slide valve 2| to theposition shown in Fig. 5 in which slotted portion 25 of slide valve 2lcloses the perforations I9 whereupon section i is swung outwardly to aposition of alignment with section I with the several parts aligned inthe position illustrated in Fig. 3 and the tooth brush is ready for use.After the brushing operation is completed bristles 5 may be Washed andthen the tooth brush folded to the position illustrated in Figs. l and 2and returned to the purse or pocket for carrying purposes. The open slot3G permits the circulation of air to the bristles 5 for the rapid dryingof the tooth brush while the protective hood prevents any unsanitarycontact with the bristles 5 and precludes, in a large measure, anydampness from seeping out from the folded tooth brush to adjacentarticles which may be carried in the purse or pocket.

While I have described my invention in one of its preferred embodimentsI realize that changes in detail and modifications in construction maybe made and I do not intend any limitations upon my invention except asmay be imposed by the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United Statesis as follows:

1. A combination foldable tooth brush and powdered dentifrice dispensercomprising a handie constituted by a pair of sections hingedly con- Lnected end to end and movable from a substantially extended position toa position in which said sections are folded one adjacent the other, atooth brush carried adjacent the end of one of said sections, acontainer for powdered dentifrice carriedtby the other of saidfsections, said container section being perforated for theV delivery of"powdered dentifrice to the tooth brush -when the sections `are lfoldedtogether, a valve slidable toeither of two limiting positions, one ofwhich blocks discharge of powdered dentifrice through the perforationsin said container and the other ofwhich permits delivery of powdereddentifrice from the container to the brush, saidslide valve having anabutment stop extending normal to theplane thereof, and a closure capremovably secured to the end of said container and normally obstructingthe removal of said slide valvewith respect to said container by therestrictive coaction between saidabutment and said closure cap.

2; A` combination foldable tooth brush and powdered dentifricedispensercomprising a handle constituted by a pair of sectionshingedlyconnectedend to end and Vmovable from a substantially extended positionto a position in which said sections are folded one-.adjacent the other,a toothbrush carried adjacentthe end ofone of saidsections, acontainerfor powdered dentifrice carried by the other of said sections, saidcontainer being' perforated for the delivery of'powdereddentifrice tothe tooth brush when the sections are folded together, a slide valveslidable to either of two limiting positions within said container, oneof which blocks4 discharge of powdered dentifrice through theperforations in said container and the other of which permits deliveryof powdered dentifrice from the container to the brush, a detachableclosure cap for the end of said container and extending in a planenormal to the plane of said slide valve, and a lug projecting from saidslide valve and adapted to abut against the side edge of said closurecap for obstructing the removal of said slide valve from said container,a detachable closure cap for the end of said container and extending ina plane normal to the plane of said slide-like valve, and a lugprojecting from said slide-like valve and adapted to abut against theside edge of said closure cap for obstructing the removal of saidslide-like valve f, from said container.

3. A combination foldable tooth brush and powdered dentifrice dispensercomprising a handle constituted by a pair of sections: hingedlyconnected end to end and movable from a substantially extended positionto a position in which said section are folded one adjacent the other, atooth brush carried adjacent the end of one of said sections, acontainer for powdered dentifrice carried by the other of said sections,said container being perforated for the delivery of powdered dentifriceto the tooth brush when the sections are folded together, and a thirdsection comprising a protective hood hingedly connected adjacent the endof said container section and adapted to be extended in a substantiallylinear direction with respect to said first mentioned sections andmovable to a position enclosing said tooth brush when said firstmentioned sections are folded together, said protecff tive hood having acoextensive bifurcated end portion for frictionally engaging oppositesides of said first mentioned section of said tooth brush and having apair of coextensive resilient side walls operative to engage oppositesides of said second mentioned section for protecting said brush andmaintaining said sections in folded relation.

4. A combination foldable tooth brush and powdered dentifrice dispensercomprising a handle constituted by a pair of sections hingedly con-Vnested end to end and movable from a substan- `said tooth brush whensaid sections are folded together and a pair of resilient side wallsassociated With said protective hood and frictionally engageable withboth of said hingedly connected sections when in folded relation forprotecting said brush and maintaining said sections in folded position.

5. A foldable tooth brush and powdered dentifrice dispenser comprising ahandle constituted by a pair of sections hingedly connected end to endand movable from a substantially extended position to a position inwhich said sections are folded, one adjacent the other, a tooth brushcarried adjacent the end of one of said sections,

a container for powdered dentifrice carried by the other of saidsections, said container being perforated for the delivery of powdereddentifrice to the tooth brush when the sections are folded 8 together,and a third section adapted to be extended in alignment with theaforesaid sections when in unfolded relation, comprising a hood hingedlyconnected with respect to one of said first mentioned sections andoperative to embrace both of said rst mentioned sections when said nrstmentioned sections are folded together, said hood including a pair ofyeldable parallel extending side walls having a depth substantiallygreater than the projection of said tooth brush 'from said firstmentioned section and operative to envelope the tooth brush and engagethe exterior side Walls of said container for yieldably and frictionallymaintaining said rst mentioned sections in detachable folded position,one with respect to the other.

FRANCES B. HOWARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the nie ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 345,517 Lakin July 13, 1886479,796 Foss Aug. 2, 1892 835,365 Morgan Nov. 6, 1906 902,796 Archer etal. Nov. 3, 1908 1,960,807 Cole May 29, 1934

